STORY ARCHIVE

Wonders of the Brain - Part 4 "The Man who Slept for 19 years"

Terry Wallis’s return to consciousness after almost two decades in a coma has astounded doctors. Did his brain heal itself? Or was it due to the persistent faith and tender loving care of his mother?

TRANSCRIPT

Terry Wallis’s return to consciousness after almost two decades in a coma has astounded doctors. Did his brain heal itself? Or was it due to the persistent faith and tender loving care of his mother?

Tonight, we join the Wallace family heading to New York to find out if Terry will ever fully recover his memory. His recovery is still only partial and his big sleep has resulted in him living in a time warp – he thinks it’s 1984 and that Ronald Reagan is President of the United States.

In the course of the journey, we learn about the devastating consequences of apparently minor instances of brain damage, which can leave people emotionally as well as physically crippled. We also learn that while some lost brain faculties can be regained through specialised therapies some damage is irretrievable.

In Terry’s case, whether through therapy or his mother’s care, what his family wants more than anything else is for him to recognise his daughter Amber, who’s now 19 years old.